St. Paul daily globe., 1887-10-02
THE GREAT STAPLE.
An Idea of the Process OF Making
Bread and Cake.

An 1ue2 Oh Cne PROCESS OF Making
Bread and Cake.
Of course, every housewife knows
how to make bread and cake. and many
of them know how to make it we'll; but
it is exceedingly probable that not one
in ten-yes, not one in 100-knOws how
it is made in large quantities, as it is
made at the big bakeries where thous-
andS of lOaveS and hundreds of dozens
of cakes are turned out daily. The
method pursued here is similar some
what, of course, to the one used in bak-
different. In big bakery everything
is so thoroughly syStematiZed that not a
minute is wasted and everything moves
like Well-oiled machinery. The bread
bakers begin work at 6 O'Clock in the
evening and work until clock in the
morning. The first thing they do on
going to work is to empty from ten to
sixteen sacks of flour in large trough,
then put i'll enough water and milk
heated to a certain temperature, to-
gether with the shortening, and begin
kneading. Two men, clad entirely in
white, looking like decidedly animated
ghosts, are put at this. They knead
thesdough for about half an hour, and
then leave it in the trough for from two
to four hours to rise. The dough is then
kneaded again and once more left for a
short time. The bakers next take it
from the trough, placed on a long table,
and scaled off into lOaves. Each loaf of
dough is next moulded up and left for
half an hour. AT the expiration of this
time the pans are placed i'll the oven,
where they are left for from half an
hour to an hour, according to the size
of the loaves. The loaves of bread, for
it is bread now, are next removed, taken
from the pan, and stocked ON shelves to
cool, which takes half an hour, packed
in boxes and sent down to the bakery,
from which place they are issued to
customers. A batch of dough made of
from ten to fifteen sacks of -four will
make anywhere from l 800 to 1,6O0 loaves
of bread.
.yf.,; III THE CAKE-IAKERS
have an easier time than their bread
making brethren. as they do all their
workdA the day time, from 6 a. m. to 6
pJlms dcThe average number of loaves of
cake turned out from bakery in one
day is about 200. To make this amount
of cake the baker first pourS twenty
fiNei5 pounds of sugar into big bowl,
addsfrD twelve to fifteen pounds of
butter, and then works the two into
thick cream or paste, to which milk,
eggs and flav0ring are added. Next thirty
pounds Of fine flour is emptied in and
the whble mass thoroughly mixed. The
dough Is then laid out the same as bread
dough. scaled off into pans and placed
il the, oven, from which it issues later
on as light and luscious as one could
ask. Phis refers, of course, to the COM
mon cSlle, which is used in lunch rooms
and RECALLED from the bakeries. 1t is
snia1l bakery indeed that, during the
day, does not manufacture from thirty
to forty special cakes of different kinds
each day.
The ovens are study in themselves.
In nearly all bakeries there are two or
more ovens, generally about 17x14 feet
in size. One of that size will hold some
thing over 700 loaves at a time: Coal is
the fuel used, as it gives asteady. strong
heat, and does not varyaS wood does.
Then, besides, wood could not well be
used in the modern ovens, on account of
the smoke it would create. The fire is
in one corner of the oven, which is so
arranged that the heat can be directed
to any part of it. Flues and drafts are
so arranged that all the gas which gem
crates goes directly to the top and
passes out through pipes, while tile heat
simply circulateS around and places a
handsome brown tint on fhe bread, cake
or biscuit, as the case may be. The fire
IN one oven never goes out except on
Sunday morning, as no work is done on
that day. This idea of bread and cake